Workshop Analyses Trends Shaping the Future of Work in the Asia-Pacific Region

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Globalization, demographic change and technological progress are reshaping societies and economies and accelerating a large workforce transition to the future. Worldwide, between 75 million and 375 million people (14% of the global workforce) may need to switch occupations by 2030. For instance, in Japan and Malaysia, over 50% of the share of jobs is at risk of automation.

But there are not only downsides in the labor market. Technological change will also create new jobs and opportunities. Automation, digitalization, robotics and machine learning will enhance productivity and economic growth and accelerate economies, driving demand for workers with the right skills set in higher-paid roles.

On March 9 and 10, the online workshop Future Skills Spotlight on the Asia-Pacific, will be available on-demand within the schedule of 9º Brazil Industry Innovation Summit upon registration on the virtual platform. The Summit, hosted by the Brazilian National Confederation of Industries (CNI), a GFCC board member and a long-standing partner, is one of the most important events on innovation in Latin America and it will gather decision-makers from industry, government, higher education, research and policy organizations in discussions around the pathways to create a sustainable economy, with education and innovation as transformation engines.

The Future Skills workshop will operate through a dynamic set up of short interviews with Dr. Mohd Youssof Sulaiman, CEO Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Mr. Hiro Nishiguchi, CEO of Japan Innovation Network, and Prof. Aleksandar Subic, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (STEM College) & Vice President Digital Innovation, moderated by Dr. Roberto Alvarez, GFCC Executive Director. Leaders will compare and discuss national strategies and priorities for skills development in their countries.

Re-skilling is a top priority

Across the globe, governments, businesses and organizations have identified the right set of skills to meet future labour demands. Most of them will require a combination of computer literacy and other technical competencies, coupled with soft skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, leadership and communication skills. But coordinated action to train, reskill and upskill populations is still lagging.

For years, the GFCC has highlighted the imperative of skills development as a top priority for sustained economic growth. In July 2021, the GFCC launched the Future Skills: Lessons and Insights from a Review of Innovative Skills Development Initiatives, a groundbreaking report benchmarking over 30 innovative training initiatives and schools in 15 countries.

The report outlines eight trends propelled by technology in education. At the same time, it advocates the need for affordable and accessible reskilling and upskilling training at scale and new learning models with greater flexibility and transdisciplinarity.

During the Future Skills Spotlight on the Asia-Pacific workshop, the GFCC aims to explore different realities in the region, identifying solutions and innovative frameworks to accelerate skills development and innovative strategies, connecting the global setting to experiences in Australia, Japan, and Malaysia.

The three countries have been developing cross-sector initiatives, supported by governments, universities and businesses, to reduce skills shortages and mismatches, accelerate learning and prepare the workforce for the future.

Australia: Australia already faces a skills shortage across a range of critical areas for the future. Today, 87% of jobs in the country require digital literacy skills. Covid-19 further accentuated the situation, with employment in Programming, Mathematics, Technology Design and Data Analysis growing rapidly since the beginning of the pandemic. In 2017, Australia launched a National Skills Strategy, focused on international skills engagement, support for training, apprenticeship programs and incentives to life-long learning. In his former role at Swinburne University, Prof. Aleksandar Subic led an innovative vocational training program co-designed between industry and academia, the 4.0 Higher Apprenticeship Program. The goal was to prepare students for jobs in high-technology manufacturing. Initiatives aiming to set up and scale training are essential to guarantee long-term economic growth. But Australia is still far from meeting its re-skilling and upskilling demands. Data shows that 156,000 more digital workers will be needed by 2025, representing one in four jobs created in the period. At the current pace of reskilling and upskilling initiatives, estimates predict that the country will face a gap of 29 million jobs by 2030. Historically, Australia has heavily relied on skilled migration to meet skills gaps in the workforce. However, travel restrictions since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak have significantly halted migration.

Malaysia: The Malaysian government has launched several partnerships with private companies and other governments directly aimed at upskilling and reskilling the population. In 1996, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) was created and played a crucial role in advancing the digital economy with a push to upskill workers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Part of this development is the Malaysia 5.0 agenda that directly addresses financial inclusion, access, performance and growth through the 4IR tools, such as fintech, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). GFCC member MIGHT has been an important actor in advancing the talent development agenda in the country. In 2018, MIGHT presented the Future of Work report to the Prime Minister, a work that has inspired the creation of the National Industry 4.0 Policy, focused on training and upskilling talent for the future of work.

Japan: A recent survey in Japan identified that only 29% of workers in the country are learning new skills to keep them competitive in the rapidly digitalizing work environment. With a significant shift in technology and a growing trend towards an aging society, upskilling and reskilling efforts must be made in the country. In 2016, Japan launched Society 5.0, a government-wide vision for the future integration into the national plan for Science and Technology policymaking. The aim was to pave the way for the role technologies in areas such as the Internet of Things, AI (artificial intelligence), cyber-physical systems, VR/AR, Big Data (analytics) will play in the future. Beyond that, there is a significant push for cross-sector collaboration. Upskilling efforts include partnerships between Microsoft and Modis, digital learning programs by Amazon Web Services, and internal educational content by major companies like Fujitsu. Developing human capital and skills strategies are key to continue advancing innovation in the country.

The Future Skills Spotlight on the Asia-Pacific will be available on-demand between March 9th and 10th upon registration at the 9º Brazil Industry innovation Summit. Registration is free on this link.